Good Discussion Questions —from “Age-Level Insights: 6-9 " and "Operation Open Book"
Spend more time crafting great discussion questions.
Often after Jonny asked a discussion question, awkward silence would follow, or one of his kids would ask him to clarify the question. For example, in a pre-makeover small group gathering, the topic was “The Role of the Church in Your Life.” Jonny asked the group, “We just touched on something that I want you to talk about—what is church supposed to be?” Because the question was too broad and general, the kids had no idea how to answer.
I told Jonny the best discussion questions are always simple, specific, and personal. And good discussion questions take time to craft. The more specific and personal the question, the more likely you are to get a specific and personal answer. So I asked Jonny to make his questions short, target only one point with them, and find ways to make them personal.
The difference: For the group’s makeover night I gave Jonny this question to ask his kids: “Which word comes closest to describing the way you see Jesus—nice, fierce, or mysterious? Explain.” The resulting discussion was lively, intense, and long.
Follow a proven learning progression—experience, reflection, interpretation, and application.
In the pre-makeover meetings, Jonny’s small group often meandered and skipped its way through a loosely defined discussion topic. Only a few young people participated in the discussion. If they decided to go on a rabbit trail, the whole group had to go with them. I asked Jonny to inject a targeted momentum to the evening by using a learning progression we know works.
It starts with an experience—in this case, there were two experiences to work with. First, the previous Sunday night’s large group gathering was an experience the small group was supposed to debrief. In addition, I asked Jonny to add a new experience to the Tuesday evening gathering that connected back to the Sunday night theme. So we first help kids reflect on the experience, then we help them interpret a biblical truth that’s connected to it, then help them apply that truth.
The night of our makeover, I asked Jonny to have his kids play an icebreaker game that reintroduced the theme of the night, followed by some reflection questions designed to get them thinking about what they remembered from the Sunday night gathering. Then the kids watched a simple PowerPoint slide show I created that showed 15 different ways our culture has depicted Jesus. As they watched the slide show, kids each quickly decided whether they thought each slide was a true or false depiction of Jesus. Then they got together with a partner to discuss the similarities and differences in their opinions.
To move into the “reflection” step, I had Jonny ask kids: “What did you learn about the way we see Jesus by watching this slide show? How does this slide show experience connect to the theme of Sunday night?”
To move into the “interpretation” step, I coached Jonny to say something like: “Our goal tonight is to deepen our understanding of who Jesus really is. Let’s start by looking at a Scripture passage—it’s John 14:1-10.” After the Scripture reading, Jonny broke the group into trios to discuss my “Jesus—nice, fierce, or mysterious?” question. After 10 minutes of discussion, the group got back together to debrief.
Finally, for the “application” step, I asked Jonny to challenge kids to choose one of three ways to apply what they’d learned that night. For example: Look for an opportunity to do something in the spirit of Jesus, then report back on what you did.
The difference: Because this progression introduced surprise and focus to the discussion, everyone was drawn into it. Kids were engaged in critical-thinking conversations that challenged, encouraged, and taught them something. And the gathering extended into their everyday life through the application challenge.
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Excerpted from "Turn Your Small Groups Upside Down" by Rick Lawrence (Group Magazine. March/April, 2006)